Okay so I'll start with the story of what happened to the boat. The owner had left it outside over the winter with the plug in, the boat either wasn't covered or wasn't well covered so it filled up with water, the water then froze. The frost plugs in the motor pushed out, and the manifolds cracked. The block didn't luckily. The transmission was damaged though, something cracked inside. His insurance did not cover the repairs, and the boat has been abandoned at the repair shop. I now may have the opportunity to purchase this boat, but I'm not sure what to offer on it. As it sits the motor is out of the boat, same with the transmission. The frost plugs were replaced and the motor was ran. Apparently the propeller contacted the hull also, the theory is the weight of the ice flexed the hull.

I was interested until the part about the propeller hitting the hull. How does that happen from ice in the hull and it flexing. Did someone actually launch the boat and try to run it on the water while it was full of ice? Was it run on the trailer and put into gear? I thought the freeze plugs popped. If so I can't imagine it was running for very long. Can a hull really flex from ice? Something seems off about that part and would have me worried enough to walk away.

I didn't get that part, that was the guess as to what happened but I can't figure out how it could've happened that way. I don't think anybody really knows for sure though. Here's the damage they mentioned.

As much as I love project boats and IMDb west and the seals behind the extra work , this isnít one of those , DO NOT DO ! Project boats.

The fact it sat with water inside the hull , froze and flexed the boat really puts its structural integrity at risk. Iíve wreaks havoc when allowed to expand and contract in certain areas. As evident in some of the pics the structural integrity above the floor already has some issues. For me , too much risk involved here. Honestly though the boat doesnít look in terrible shape over all , but again the structural uncertainty would make me walk. The only way to be certain would be to pop the boats top cap off and take a peak inside. Not easy or cost effective

Here is a pretty decent way to figure what a project boatís worth. Find a few in line. A great the going rate to see where a fully functional boat falls in line at. Subtract the cost of repairs(labor excluded) , that gives you a baseline. Now adjust your price accordingly to the time you think youíll have to invest into the boat and adjust the offer price based on what you think your time is worth $$$ wise.

Kindof hard to see hull damage in the picture to be sure....but to me that looks like it may be "prop burn" under the hull from running a prop too big for boat (It sure appears to be close in pic tho angle could be deceptive)...prop should be roughly 3/4" off bottom of hull since there is no built-in bubble), or maybe running in shallow water with sand for extended period, etc. Just does not make sense....does this repair shop specialize in inboard tow boats, I don't see any others in back ground pics? You should ask them to clarify this cause even if hull "flexed" down from weight of ice, I don't think the damage would look like that. That is craziest assumption I have ever heard, if the hull flexed that badly, wouldn't the gelcoat not all be spider cracked? Lmao, I think that is impossible and they are racking their small brains to figure out what caused it, was probably there before and owner said it was new damage, hoping that insurance would cover that too.

Are the stains in boat how high the water got before freezing? It all look like it could be cleaned with elbow grease.
That boat in good condition should be around $30k....so work backwards and think of the time and effort. I would feel them out, are they trying to cover their labor into the job so far and actually have a good title to boat that can be signed over to you if you buy? My thoughts not knowing all there is to know....$10k considering the time, effort and money you will have to put into it to make it great again. How many hours on engine and will they certify the engine is now in running condition?
You would have to get a good deal to make it worth it so when all is said and done, its still a good price. Otherwise buy one in great condition and dont deal with all the stress of the repairs and unknowns

That's prop burn. I wouldn't worry about it much. Look for gel coat cracks everywhere else. If the ice truly expanded and cause flex (which I doubt) you would most likely find signs in the gel coat. Water expands when it freezes and usually takes the path of least resistance. If that boat filled up there would most likely be plenty of expansion room without stressing things much.

With that said I'd try to find out what the repair place is into this boat and then offer them that amount. They probably are just looking to get it off the lot and not make a huge profit.

I personally don't think it could've flexed that much but that's me. I think the theory the owner was trying to get old damage covered by insurance is probably the most likely. It was hard to get a picture under the boat, but yeah the prop was very close to the bottom of the hull.The stains inside are how high the water level got yes. The shop does not specialize in inboard boats at all, they're primarily Mercury. Their repair estimate was something like 8000 as I recall. And one other thing I should add about this boat, all of the black has been painted. Not sure why.

I'm with these guys that hull didn't flex that much. Just think the strut would have moved with it too. With that said I wouldn't touch it for more that $2500. Dealing with everything that you are going to need will take a ton of time.

It has always amazed me the way people take care of things. Looks like it was a pretty nice boat at some point.
Could it be possible that the boat was moored and the marina iced up? That might explain a few things.As for price... The trailer alone has to be worth close to 2K.
The tower could be worth close to 1K. Parting the boat out as it sits might bring you close to 5k...
I would give them a low ball offer. Chances are the marina just needs to get their labor costs back.

Doesn't look like it, the water line is pretty apparent on the inside but no indication it lived in the water on the outside. The whole thing is strange to me, both that somebody would take care of their boat in this way, and that they wouldn't just pay their bill and try to sell it themselves. Mostly the shop is looking to get their money back on this. Not sure if that will include the $10 a day storage fee the boat has been collecting though.

Well it's nearly mine now. I've agreed on an approximate price, could go up or down a bit depending what the final shop bill is with the storage and all. But I'm happy with the number anyway. Only 2 more weeks and then I can get it. The shop has to send the former owner a registered letter to give him one final chance to pay. After that it's mine.

It may be too late but my advice is to pass. These type of projects inevitably take more time and money than expected. And when they are finished the full up cost is usually more than you would pay if you just bought a similar boat in decent condition. Not to mention the long term reliability issues you're likely to experience.

Electrical all work? Legal / title issues settled? Could work out to be a fantastic deal, but every $ you throw at it above the cost of trailer and salvagable parts might turn out to have been better spent on lottery tickets. Save the water line damage, the interior looked to be in good shape for 10 years old.

Truthfully I don't know how the whole title process actually works. I am prepared for unexpected issues and I feel I'm getting it at a price that allows for that. And it's early enough in the year I have time to sort it out. Oh and Dave not surprised you could've seen it there, it's been there since July. Also its cool to see someone else locally on here.